Bylsma Talks Crosby, Malkin, Jack Adams Award & Much More

PITTSBURGH, PA - FEBRUARY 21: Head coach Dan Bylsma of the Pittsburgh Penguins directs his team during the NHL game against the Washington Capitals at Consol Energy Center on February 21, 2011 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The Capitals defeated the Penguins 1-0. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

(Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH (KDKA/93-7 THE FAN) — Now that the Stanley Cup has been handed out, the hockey off-season is in full swing for all players and coaches. Pittsburgh Penguins head coach Dan Bylsma joined THE FAN Morning Show Friday and talked about how the team’s superstars are recovering from their season-ending injuries and much more.

Bylsma said captain Sidney Crosby has returned to his family home in Nova Scotia for the summer where he is back to his regular workout schedule after suffering from a concussion.

“I actually spoke with Ray Shero yesterday. Sidney Crosby, after the season was over – after we were done – went on vacation with some of the guys for about two weeks, came back into town, saw the doctors, worked out here for about a week under the doctors watchful eye and they released him to go back to Nova Scotia and start his normal summer program,” he said. “He’s working out two days a week. He’s got his trainer there working out with him. So, he’s right in the midst of what his normal summer training would be.”

According to Bylsma, the Penguins are going to prepare for next season expecting their captain to be ready to play.

As for the Pens other star, a former teammate recently updated Bylsma on Evgeni Malkin.

“Normally, Evgeni [is] a guy, who at this point in time, he kind of goes back home and is off-the-map for about a month. We got word yesterday [Sergei] Gonchar, he ran into Geno, and Geno has been working out extremely hard,” said Bylsma. “He’s never seen him look this good. Never seen him working out this hard and really had a lot of good things to say about where Geno is at.”

Bylsma also addressed other topics including restricted free agent Tyler Kennedy, star prospect Simon Depres, free agency, the team’s power play struggles and line combinations for next season.

“In the board room in the summertime, you place people in the top, you say top six forward, you say your top centermen, you talk about those types of things. I think Sidney and Geno are our top two centermen. If you want to go in that direction, [Staal is our] third center, but they are our top three forwards and they will play top three forward minutes and they will be in top three forward positions,” he added.

As for his nomination for the Jack Adams Award, Bylsma says he hopes to win, but says the honor is not just about him, it’s about the whole organization.

“I certainly am looking forward to the awards and I’d like to win the Jack Adams. I think it signals something that we’ve done here in Pittsburgh,” he said. “But I do know, in no way shape or form is this an individual award, it’s not something that Dan Bylsma has done. This is in a lot of ways an organizational award.”